The Galaxy's Mightiest
by Kuzcopia
Summary: Carol Danvers has been put in charge of the most powerful team of avengers ever assembled. As if that wasn't enough, she will have to decide on the fate of an entire system.
1. Chapter 1

_**Disclaimer: Goes without saying but I do not own Bruce Banner nor the Hulk nor any other Marvel character herein included. They're the properties of the original creators as dictated by official documents, whom you can find out more about in Wikipedia or something. Stan Lee, Marvel Comics, etc.**_

 _ **The Anolians and every related character/lore are invented by me, as is the overarching plot, but obviously, I don't own it. Still Marvel.**_

 _ **Rating: T for a bit of violence. I censor profanity like they would in a comic, if I ever use it.**_

* * *

 **PART 1:** A Diplomatic Mission

Carol entered the room with a confident smile on her face. She knew that was key. For a few seconds, she simply regarded her crew with a mix of pride and uncertainty, but she made sure to hide all of the uncertainty.

There was no question that that was likely the most powerful team ever assembled, with the possible exception of any team Dr. Strange was ever a part of.

Thor looked at her more or less passively, with his arms crossed in consideration. It was very rare that he was actually considering anything, but he was into the habit of looking like it.

Right next to him was Nova, looking excited as usual, and that was easily discernible despite his Nova Corps helmet - by his grin. He was leaning forward on his legs and looking around the table at the others. He had clearly been talking just before Carol entered the room. She was conflicted about having someone so young, but despite his age, he was still the representative of galactic law and justice. Because of that, they needed him on the team.

"Hello Carol!" greeted the member who was, by far the oddest pick for the team. Mr. Immortal was waving excitedly. "Nova was just telling us about when he fought Thanos with you! That's amazing!"

Nova blushed and looked down, but Captain Marvel focused on the chatterbox that had been assigned to her team. "Well, he's still kicking about so let's hope we don't have to do that again." Mr. Immortal was, shocking as it may seem, immortal. He wasn't supposed to ever leave the ship, being the designated driver that they could count on since nothing would kill him. The cockpit could very well explode and be swallowed by the void, and he would just keep going.

It had been a pain to teach him the necessary skills, but possible.

"Our mission's diplomacy," said Simon, the Wonder Man. Carol still remembered him as a man of charm and smiles, but a lot had happened to turn him into a surly walking superpower who found it hard to get out of bed and do something with his life. He had been her pick, for old time's sakes, because he was both a powerhouse and really needed someone to keep him from wasting away. "What was their name? Anolians?"

"A silly people," said Thor, scoffing. "They eat grass and lounge around."

"Well not anymore, now they're in the middle of a civil war," Carol let them know.

"Why are we getting involved?" A thick accent asked. Carol looked over at Shiro, the Sunfire. The mutant representative who was nevertheless a power that could rival that of Johnny Storm. The once Japanese vigilante stared back from behind his sun-themed mask with a disgruntled lack of appreciation.

"We're a neutral party," she answered, ignoring his combative tone. "The Anolians have a small system of planets that have been allowed to live in peace and independence amidst the Kree territory, because they're pacifist, lazy, and their planets have little to no resources. Once they started fighting each other, most all of those reasons went poof. The Kree are poised to invade and take over, which usually means genocide, but folk back home managed to propose a diplomatic mission, first."

"Hell of a team you got here if our only purpose is diplomacy. Shouldn't we have one diplomat?"

She smiled at Rhodes, who was completely outside of his armor. The NATO representative, but mostly Stark's overseeing eyes. With him, they had three people capable of piloting that ship. Including her, of course.

"Well, there's an additional complication." She waved at the one person she knew nobody would recognize. A young woman with wild brown hair who was a hundred percent earth human, and at the same time, not from earth at all. "This is Geena Drake, a member of the Guardians of the Galaxy from the year three thousand."

Geena waved in greeting. "Hello."

"I was wondering since I have never heard of her," Sunfire said, almost in protest. Geena glared at him, but he continued. "What is this crisis, then?"

"Well, we don't exactly know. But Geena's pretty unique. She can sense time anomalies. Something is happening with the Anolians that shouldn't be happening."

"Nobody has ever heard of them," Geena said with a shrug. "Ever. They're supposed to be irrelevant, you know? Just another planet of people who's swallowed up in some war, eventually. If anything, they're a footnote in some history books that want to make fun of pacifism."

Wonder Man scowled with his sunglasses on, unhappy to hear that, but said nothing.

"So I think this civil war has something to do with what I'm sensing," Geena said. "With why I'm here."

"Where did you come from, Geena?" Nova asked, directly.

"Not where, when!" She said, happily, and he snickered.

"Come on, you know what I mean."

She giggled somewhat, but it was Rhodes who answered. "The Guardians brought her to us. Starlord was adamant that they were the last people who should try their hand at diplomacy, and we're inclined to agree. The Guardians' rap sheet doesn't really vibe with their appearance. As in, almost no power. We put together this team to handle intergalactic issues that will, or even just might, affect our planet. Get ahead of this kind of thing before it comes knocking on our door and blowing up our continents. There's only so many times we can bring Earth back from apocalypses."

"Has," Geena chimed in, uncertain, "has it happened a lot? I only know of the one."

The whole table shuffled and shrugged and coughed in discomfort.

"We don't even know which one you're referring to," said Mr. Immortal. "It's almost a seasonal thing. Doesn't it happen every year? Right around summer time? I get the impression everything starts blowing up right around the time I'm thinking about hitting the beach, every time."

"Well, that's why we're here. The Earth's mightiest heroes," Rhodes said, chuckling. "Nobody is going to underestimate us, and they'll always know some of us, so we actually have a decent chance at making diplomacy work."

"When you are as mighty as Thor, your foes will always fail to estimate your might," Thor said with a smirk. "I am surprised to see Hulk absent from this team."

"We thought the Hulk wouldn't be too keen on being sent off-planet by the Avengers," Rhodes said, a bit ironically. "Besides, we figured we should make a team of fliers."

"I can't fly," Mr. Immortal said, raising his hand.

"You're not leaving the ship," Rhodes said.

"I can't fly either," Geena said, also raising her hand.

"You're not a selected member, you're the VIP we're carrying. You're part of the mission."

"Oh, a very important person!" She said to Nova, elbowing him in a friendly manner, and making him giggle at that.

Carol was a bit put off by the fact Rhodey was taking control. This was her team and her operation. As such, she cleared her throat and stood up, to gather their attention. She hoped that would leave them with the impression he had allowed her second to tell them the things they needed to know, and that was it.

"We'll arrive at their planet soon. I want everyone to know their role when we go out there, we can't mess this up. We won't mess this up. So listen closely." She glanced at Mr. Immortal, "and pay attention."

* * *

 ** _Part End: Thank you for reading, please consider leaving a review if you have the time._**

This story's going to be all about Carol as a leader, and all the difficulties that comes with it. Sunfire will be fun. I hope you'll enjoy it. Next part will feature the very first setback, when a member of the team has to leave before they even start the mission! Hope to see you there o/

 _This story and Spider-man: Repulse are heavily connected by lore, even though they're not connected by plot. All my marvel stories are in the same universe, and following an overarching plot. Just in case you want to give that a read._


	2. One Man Down

_**Disclaimer: Goes without saying but I do not own Bruce Banner nor the Hulk nor any other Marvel character herein included. They're the properties of the original creators as dictated by official documents, whom you can find out more about in Wikipedia or something. Stan Lee, Marvel Comics, etc.**_

 _ **The Anolians and every related character/lore are invented by me, as is the overarching plot, but obviously, I don't own it. Still Marvel.**_

 _ **Rating: T for a bit of violence. I censor profanity like they would in a comic, if I ever use it.**_

* * *

 **PART 2:** One Man Down

"Really? What kind of danger?"

"Legendary," said Thor, a bit indifferent. "Or so I have been told. I would assume they are not exaggerating."

Carol bit her lip. Thor had received news from Asgard, that it was under attack, and he had told her. He hadn't said he would go, which might mean he wanted to stay, but being Thor, he was checking to see if she would boss him around.

"Well, it is your family, right? If they need you, you should go."

"I agree," Thor said, and Carol winced, immediately regretting her decision. "A man who won't stand and fight for his family, his friends, is no real man. That is why I am so disappointed in what the man of wonder has become, but even so, that's why I must go."

Carol twisted, cursing the universe for her bad luck. Thor and Wonder Man were the only two members of the team she could count on to have her back no matter what, and Thor was right about Simon. She couldn't really count on him in a fight.

She felt a little ashamed by it, but she still asked him: "any chance it will be quick?"

Thor placed his strong hand on her shoulder, giving her a hearty shake and an encouraging smile.

"You do not need the might of Thor to deal with some pesky Anolians. You were put in charge of this team, Captain Marvel, and it is a mighty team, but you have nothing to fear from them. Should my absence cause any one member to disrespect you, well, do as Mother would do and put them in their place." He laughed and slapped her shoulder. "I will deal with whatever fatal danger my family is in and then I shall return to the Avengers."

"Well." Carol sighed. "Good luck, Thor. Whatever is threatening your family, I've no doubt you can handle it."

Thor grinned. "Aye. With any luck, I shall return in time to save your team at their hour of need!"

Carol smiled, shaking her head. "Perhaps."

Thor left the team then, and Carol watched him go, thinking of how she would explain that to the team. The mission hadn't even started, and she had already lost their most powerful member. Carol wondered if she should have ordered him to stay, but knowing Thor, that was more likely to lead to him quitting the team. He always came off more like an exterior force who offered assistance out of charitable interest, and not really like someone who had any stakes in Earth society. Someone at all interested in making connections and climbing the ranks and all of that stuff that she had always failed to do.

And yet, Steve and Tony had picked her to lead their most powerful team. Not Hank, or Thor himself, and not Rhodes, but Carol Danvers. Captain Marvel.

She had never led a team outside of necessary impromptu situations, and those experiences were probably what made them think of her.

Carol brushed her short hair, scratching her head. Part of her missed the long hair, but there was no denying it was a hassle to deal with when she was so often involved in combat. Not only was it a liability during a fist fight, as something that could be grabbed, or that could get in her eyes, but it would often get singed or damaged enough that she would need to spend time trimming it and the like.

No, the short hair removed all of the danger and the hassle, and it gave her a more authoritarian look as well, which was beneficial to her leadership position.

 _If I change my make-up and wear a mask, people might see Steve in me,_ she thought, jokingly. He was nearly the same shade of blonde, but obviously, she had nothing on his jawline. And he had nothing on her neckline.

She watched Thor flying away, and almost immediately, the intercom switched on in her ear.

"Is that Thor leaving?"

She nodded at nothing and connected the whole team. "Everyone. Thor had a family emergency at Asgard. He requested leave, and I allowed it since this op's a cakewalk." It was a different spin on how things had gone, but only Simon would know better, and he wouldn't say anything. Mostly because he wasn't really talking to anyone about anything. "E.T.A?" She asked at once, to discourage protests.

"The thingy says thirty minutes," Mr. Immortal said.

"The thingy? For the fifth time, it's the nav computer," Rhodes complained, "how is it that hard to remember?"

"Well I'm using it right, right? That's what matters!" Mr. Immortal said, very happily.

"Keep radio chatter to a minimum," she demanded, to establish authority, and then switched it off. She brought a hand to her forehead and took a breath, and then walked off to talk to Simon.

He was sitting inside his room, looking at nothing with his sunglasses. Carol liked to think he had his eyes closed and was meditating, but he never was. He was always just lost in thought. Always in his red suit with a yellowish W patterned across his chest.

"Si. You doing okay?"

"Sure," he said, indeed revealing he wasn't sleeping or otherwise distracted.

"I want you outside with us. Rhodey will stay in the ship with Mr. Immortal," she said, making use of a terse tone of voice. Like Steve's would sound.

"Expecting a fight?" he asked, and even though she couldn't see it, she knew he was glancing sideways at her.

"No. If there is one, the rest of us will handle it. But you can make shields so if we need to retreat, or if I need you to protect the ship, I want you to be nearby and ready. I don't want you being in the ship if we get caught off guard."

He nodded and his eyes, she knew, turned forward. "Sure. Long as I don't have to punch anyone."

"Yes," she said, wincing a bit disapprovingly. "Do you agree with what we're doing here? Are you okay with the mission? I told you it would be this kind of thing."

"Stopping a war? Of course. It's just that's never how it goes, is it? The situation will get complicated. We'll have to fight, then we'll make mistakes and make it worse. Or at least, that's what'll happen if I get too involved." He gave her a hint of the smile she knew him for. "I trust you can do better than me, Carol. So don't feel threatened by Rhodey."

Carol balked, a bit surprised by that remark.

"Me? Threatened by-you're kidding, right?"

"Guess I am." He shrugged. "Just know I stand by you. Pretty sure the kid does, too. Sunfire's trickier, there's no telling who he'll respect more. But give him time, and that'll be you, too. Rhodey's way too much of a straight shooter."

She frowned.

"I don't appreciate the levity, Si. I'm the leader of this team, and everyone is a volunteer. Just like Thor, you can all leave whenever you want, but so long as you're here, you will listen to me. Or else you're right, everything will go south very fast."

Simon shook his head, lifting his hands in apology.

"I apologize for my words, cap," he said, on purpose. "It's as you're saying and I, for one, welcome you as my overlord."

Carol almost laughed but managed to just scoff instead. Then, she walked out.

"You better!"

* * *

 ** _Part End: Thank you for reading, please consider leaving a review if you have the time._**

There's a theme arising in these stories, huh? With one member leaving every time at the very start. Oh well, I'm sure Carol can handle it. Can she?  
Next part, we meet the Anolians and find out about what's going on there. Hope you see you then.


	3. The Presidency

_**Disclaimer: Goes without saying but I do not own Bruce Banner nor the Hulk nor any other Marvel character herein included. They're the properties of the original creators as dictated by official documents, whom you can find out more about in Wikipedia or something. Stan Lee, Marvel Comics, etc.**_

 _ **The Anolians and every related character/lore are invented by me, as is the overarching plot, but obviously, I don't own it. Still Marvel.**_

 _ **Rating: T for a bit of violence. I censor profanity like they would in a comic, if I ever use it.**_

* * *

 **PART 3: The Presidency**

Captain Marvel left their ship, which was named Artibus, with an entourage of galactic superpowers.

And Geena Drake.

The planet was luscious with plant life, so much so that no animals were visible anywhere, and she knew they didn't exist. That was a society without any fauna, having evolved from, and subsisting on, nothing but plants.

The Anolians were sentient vines who looked oddly humanoid. Their eyes were opaque green, and while they could close them, squint them and the rest, it was impossible to tell where their sights were set on. From her intel, they had a very narrow field of vision, but they made up for it with a pheromone-based sense of tact. It sounded weird. It supported what tactile information they got from their humanoid tentacles. They had mouths, but Carol had yet to see any teeth or tongues, even though they could speak quite normally.

Carol hated supernatural pheromones. In fact, she had the suspicious feeling every woman would.

"Look at this place," Sunfire said, watching very judgingly. "In all my life, a more combustible environment, I have not seen."

"Okay, Yoda," Nova said, snickering, "all the more reason to do this peacefully, right? Don't wanna burn up the whole planet by mistake."

Sunfire scoffed, looking aside derisively. "Yes, I shall do my best not to sneeze."

Geena laughed at that, but Carol looked back with a straight face.

"Stop it. We're guests in their home, so behave yourselves."

"The presidency will see you now, Captain Marvel."

Carol turned to the Anolian, not really sure whether it was female or male, though that was besides the point. They could do the job of both, biologically speaking, switching up their sexes whenever they wanted. Just like many plants.

Nodding, Captain Marvel led her team through the gate which was, essentially, a gaping hole in the base of a massive tree trunk. The tree was as tall as a skyscraper and wider by many degrees of magnitude. Despite the lack of fauna and all the dangers associated with it, the plant life was gigantic. The trees, the flowers, it all made Captain Marvel feel like an ant in a garden.

The thrones were essentially shaped out of bark, but despite all the pure natural appearances, this was a species with as many technological advancements as humanity itself. The weapons that the guards held were humming with pulsing bio-energy, which was visible through tiny, carved out cracks that they possessed. The cracks shone with yellow light every other second.

In front of each throne, eight in total, were branches and, between them, holographic panels.

"You are the envoys of the Kree?" a male voice spoke, echoing around the room, "here to ascertain our volatility?"

Captain Marvel kept a straight face and grabbed fists behind her back, standing at attention. She knew that stance, while not customary, would still be perceived as respectful.

"We are envoys of Earth. Commissioned to act as third parties to assist in brokering a peace."

"What does that mean?" Asked one of the Anolians from one of the thrones, one in yellow.

"It means they're here to put a stop to those rebel maniacs!" explained another, and every member of the presidency grumbled in affirmation and self-justified righteousness.

Simon glanced over at Carol tensely, but she showed no reaction.

"Not necessarily. We are to understand that you have been at peace with one another for as long as you've had history. We're here to ascertain why that is no longer the case, and hopefully, to help rectify the situation. With that in mind, we would first like to know what is behind the hostilities."

"What happened?!" Yelled one of them, with a more high-pitch, female-sounding voice. "You say it right, yes! For as long as we have had history! For millennia! For that long, we have respected the gods and served them in defense of the universe! Chosen one after Chosen one, fighting the Unseen! But you know what they did?!"

"Tell them what they did," said another of the presidency.

"They surrendered the gods! Our Chosen surrendered them to unverified, unacceptable parties! And all but one has fled our system!" She finished, appalled. "The grossest dereliction of duties!"

"Rumors say they have given the gods up to individuals of other species," said yet another member of the presidency, with a slithering, insulted voice.

"What else to expect of the unChosen!" continued the woman. "Courage and sacrifice are rare in our people."

"Very rare," concurred another.

"And heroism? Perish the thought!" Said a fifth in agreement, and the first woman yelped, emoting support for the idea that that was almost non-existent.

"We of the presidency naturally represent those ideals. But it is us, and the Chosen, and those who would be either. Very few! Even those of us with such qualities are open to being influenced, believe you me. That is why we have laws!"

"For millennia," an old voice added.

"Yes, but now these wretches have ruined it! They corrupted our Chosen, gave up our gods, and now they are all missing! All of them!"

"Except for the one," said another woman, helpfully.

"No, fool, we have the original Chosen, but the god of repulsion is gone as well! Given up to another wretch who fled our system. This is unheard of. While we are perfectly accepting of weak-willed Anolians, heretical attitudes on such magnitude cannot be tolerated! The whole universe is at stake because of these traitorous wretches!"

"As such, we declared they would be united with the earth," continued another, and Carol was already beyond lost. "But even then, they fight back!"

"No regard for our society. Our community. Our customs!" Carol was trying to keep up with everyone who was speaking, wanting to look each in their eye as a sign that she was listening intently, but it was hard. They were switching fast, and their mouths hardly moved.

"If the presidency declares it is time to unite with the earth, then it is so. But they rebel! They fight back! This is a terrible situation," the woman Anolian said, beyond appalled.

"Tunhak is approaching, and if things continue as they are, we fear our soldiers and warriors might have to skip out on that time of great healing."

This statement made the whole room shiver with discontentment. Carol didn't know what Tunhak was, but apparently, it was something very important.

"Do you understand the situation?" Asked the woman. "It is great that you are here! You are very powerful. Surely, you can help unite the rebels with the earth, so that we might yet enjoy Tunhak!"

All the members of the presidency watched Carol with great interest and hope and she, while keeping a straight and stern face, tried to decipher what they had said.

"What in the hell are they saying?" Sunfire suddenly shouted, looking around at the team. "Does anyone know what they are talking about?!"

The presidency shuddered before the insolence, so Captain Marvel took immediate action, lashing out at him with both voice and gestures.

"Sunfire, be silent!" She used a loud voice, as well, to impact upon the Anolians that she was in control, and mindful of their susceptibilities. "I speak for the team."

Sunfire gave her a challenging look and crossed his arms, frowning. He gave no sign of wanting to go against her order, even as he was giving many signs he didn't appreciate being handled like that.

Carol looked ahead again, facing the members of the Anolian presidency. "I apologize. Not every member of my team is a practiced diplomat. Sunfire is more of a bodyguard."

He scoffed, silently insulted, but said nothing.

"So these rebels broke your rules," Carol recollected. "You tried to punish them, and they fought back. It seems odd to me that they could stand against all your people."

"Oh, they have convinced many of them just like they convinced the Chosen," said the woman, dismissing the inquiry. "Making good use of misinformation, they convince many that they did not corrupt the Chosen. That our rule is unfair, as are our customs."

"For millennia, you said," reminded the old one, "peace and pleasure provided by our rule and customs. And yet these sproutlings would judge us and fight us. Unheard of."

"Never even written before," confirmed another.

They went off into another group rant, which Carol and the team had to endure. Meanwhile, she kept trying to piece exactly what was going on from the spirited and disjointed complaints that those monarchs were giving as an explanation.

It drained her mental stamina quite rapidly.

* * *

 ** _Part End: Thank you for reading, please consider leaving a review if you have the time._**

That was funny to write. Hope you've enjoyed the presidency and all their spiraling. Do you believe what they're saying? Check back next part when our team works it out and decides on what to do.

 _This story and Spider-man: Repulse are heavily connected by lore, even though they're not connected by plot. All my marvel stories are in the same universe, and following an overarching plot. Just in case you want to give that a read._


	4. Over and Out

_**Disclaimer: Goes without saying but I do not own Bruce Banner nor the Hulk nor any other Marvel character herein included. They're the properties of the original creators as dictated by official documents, whom you can find out more about in Wikipedia or something. Stan Lee, Marvel Comics, etc.**_

 _ **The Anolians and every related character/lore are invented by me, as is the overarching plot, but obviously, I don't own it. Still Marvel.**_

 _ **Rating: T for a bit of violence. I censor profanity like they would in a comic, if I ever use it.**_

* * *

 **PART 4: Over and Out**

"So. They believe this Unseen is a threat to the whole universe, and that their gods are standing in the way of whatever that is."

"Plural," said the Wonder Man. "I think the Unseen are a group?"

"Right," Carol said. "The Chosen receive these gods, so the gods might actually be some kind of power?" Carol asked. "Magic, maybe? I hope it isn't magic. I hate magic." She didn't like having such a democratic conversation, but Carol was really unsure how to unpack everything they had been told. She needed the discussion to avoid making mistakes.

"It sounds like madness to me," Sunfire said, and Carol winced at him disapprovingly.

"If we want to resolve this peacefully, Sunfire, we have to be respectful of their beliefs and customs. Also, that's not a helpful comment to make in a discussion."

Sunfire scowled at her again, displeased. "Their beliefs and customs are irrelevant. These rebels want to rule, that is all there is to it. We find them, we take them down, and this whole thing is over."

"Well, I'm inclined to believe they're right about the Unseen," Geena said with an easy shrug. "I don't see why else I would be here. It can't all just be fiction. If there any threat that goes across timelines, it's got to be this Unseen thing. A threat to the universe, they said."

"Things," Wonder Man added, absent-mindedly. "Really think it's plural."

Carol had to agree. The mere presence of Geena indicated there was more to all of it, or that it was exactly as described. She really doubted it would be anything less. It was never less.

"Let's just find these rebels and see what they have to say," Nova commented, even though he seemed distracted by a row of blooming flowers that were being used as a spiral staircase around a tree. He seemed very fascinated by the planet. "Didn't you watch Star Wars? Rebels are usually the good guys."

Carol made sure not to chuckle at that, scoffing instead. She had decided on how they would proceed.

"Wonder Man will stay back and keep an eye on these guys. Official reason is for protection, but I really don't want to be blindsided by some attempt at genocide or by some order to tail us and then attack the rebels. That always happens just when we're about to solve everything peacefully."

Some chuckled, but it was nothing disrespectful, so she let it slide. It felt like a nice thing but also worrying. She wanted them all to be ready for anything, not just having a good time.

"We'll keep watching the ship," Rhodey said through intercom, "be careful out there. Plant life's just as dangerous as anything when it's this size."

"Thank you, War-Machine, we'll be fine," Carol said, trying not to sound patronizing. "Everyone else, we're going to find these rebels. Sunfire with Nova. Geena with me. How's your oxygen?"

"Several hours left," Geena said through the sound box in her helmet, but happily.

"Alright. Let's go." Carol grabbed Geena, and they departed, flying up and away at great speeds.

"Wooo, this is kind of fun," Geena said enjoying the flight. Carol could see the streaks left behind by Sunfire and Nova, so she didn't respond.

She noticed how they parted ways and squinted her eyes. "Nova, Sunfire, why did you separate? Over."

"We'll cover more ground," Nova replied in her ear.

"No, stick together. That's an order. Over?"

"An order?" Sunfire asked, and then he cursed in Japanese.

She frowned and answered in Japanese as well. "Yes, an order!" She spoke the rest in English since she didn't know the grammar in Japanese. "Stick together and let us know if you find anything. Over and out."

"I have the translator, you can talk in whatever language you want," Nova said, helpfully.

Carol winced, annoyed she had forgotten about that. It was obvious since that had been how they had communicated with the Anolians. "Nova, I said over and out, don't stay on radio! Over and out."

"Uh, right, sorry. Roger and uh, Out? Yeah."

Carol took an exasperated breath, ignoring Sunfire's mumbling protests. What mattered the most was that she saw their trails coming together again.

"Man, you need to mellow out, Carol." Carol squinted down at Geena, who couldn't see her. "That Shiro guy strikes me as someone who'll go nuts if you keep berating him like that."

"It's Captain Marvel, Geena," Carol simply said. "You all need to listen to me, or I can't keep us all safe. I know you feel we're too powerful to fail, but you have no idea how fast things can turn."

"No idea?" Geena scoffed. "You don't know a thing about me, lady. Oh, wait, sorry. _Captain_."

Carol frowned, wanting to drop Geena. She would catch her, but she really wanted to teach her not to mouth of to the person that's carrying her across the skies. Then she thought of apologizing, realizing she had perhaps used too harsh a tone, but at the same time, that wouldn't be the thing to do as a leader. So she let silence remain.

Silence was strength. Carol was pretty sure she had read that somewhere.

"Captain, we just got shot at," Nova said through her earpiece, and Carol was shocked.

"Already? Over."

"There's a big force standing to the east of the capital city. I think they were staging an attack and we just found them. Uh, over."

Carol was beside herself. _Really? Just like that?_ "Neutralize and incapacitate," Carol ordered, almost yelling, "I want no fatalities whatsoever, is that clear? Over!"

"You know how hard that is for me?" Sunfire asked, in protest.

"Then leave it to Nova," Carol said, impatiently. Did he always have to mouth off? "Si, make sure the presidency doesn't launch an attack! We're on our way, Nova, Over and out!"

"I won't fight them," said Simon.

"Si!" Carol yelled, almost losing a hold of her voice. "This is an order, I want this solved peacefully so do not let an attack get carried out. Over."

After a moment of silence, Wonder Man replied with a hesitant "I'll do my best."

"Do you need support? Over." Rhodey asked.

"No!" Carol shook her head at herself, disappointed at her personal tone of voice. Wincing, she sighed and standardized her tone. "Not as of yet, War-Machine. Clear the radio waves, everyone, this is what we're here for! Let's do it right. Over and out!"

* * *

 ** _Part End: Thank you for reading, please consider leaving a review if you have the time._**

Honestly, I'd be worried about Rhodey too. He's so likeable! Join us on the next part when Carol deals with a rebel leader and finds out their side of the story. Things really start getting difficult.

 _This story and Spider-man: Repulse are heavily connected by lore, even though they're not connected by plot. All my marvel stories are in the same universe, and following an overarching plot. Just in case you want to give that a read._


	5. The Rebellion

_**Disclaimer: Goes without saying but I do not own Bruce Banner nor the Hulk nor any other Marvel character herein included. They're the properties of the original creators as dictated by official documents, whom you can find out more about in Wikipedia or something. Stan Lee, Marvel Comics, etc.**_

 _ **The Anolians and every related character/lore are invented by me, as is the overarching plot, but obviously, I don't own it. Still Marvel.**_

 _ **Rating: T for a bit of violence. I censor profanity like they would in a comic, if I ever use it.**_

* * *

 **PART 5: The Rebellion**

Carol watched the world thoughtfully as she flew. How many worlds had she seen? Had she ever been to a world and just visited? Or had she fought on every world she had been to? And that was just on that universe. On that timeline. It was hard to tell, really.

"You sure you're up for this? You seem on edge," Geena said, not emoting a lot of confidence.

"The only thing getting me on edge is the team. If you all just listen to me, I'll be fine. We'll all be fine."

"When haven't we?" Geena asked, confused, and Carol didn't have an answer to that. That was true, they hadn't, and yet she felt like they did. Because of all the resistance. "I mean, we're not robots, we're speaking our mind. That should be okay?"

Again, Carol didn't really have an answer for that. It was just that cap had never had to deal with it. Outside of Clint. And Tony sometimes. And the Hulk. And a bit with Hank. Natasha went rogue that one time, but outside of that. Well, there was also Pietro a few times. Spider-man didn't really listen-and Wolverine who- _okay, I'm definitely wrong about that one. Huh, why does it feel like everyone just listens to him all the time?_

Before she could think of an answer, they arrived. Sunfire was in the air, engulfed in flames, but otherwise just hovering in wait. Below him was Nova, and a huddle of roughly twenty Anolians. They were sitting all together, all in Nova's sights, who was standing on firm ground with his hands aimed at them. He was also waiting.

Carol looked around and, outside of a few broken trees, saw no real damage done. No dead bodies. "Really good job," she said.

"Thanks!" Nova grinned happily. Geena stepped out of Carol's grasp and looked up.

"Come down, fireman," she called out above.

"It is Sunfire," Shiro yelled down, squinting annoyed. "And I will not. We do not want to be setting things on fire, correct?"

Carol winced and then rolled her eyes. He was following her orders and staying back, so Nova had taken care of them all by himself. Carol noticed his uniform was singed on the elbow.

"You're okay?"

"Totally not a problem," he said excitedly, then he pointed to one of the Anolians. "I think he's the leader here."

Carol approached the Anolian in question, who was made of more yellowish stuff. Its opaque yellow eyes met her, and his expression squinted. "So. Ignorant foreigners have come to the aid of the vile presidency."

"Not necessarily," Carol said, taking a knee so she could regard the Anolian more respectfully. "You've been at peace for a very long time, and now that you're not, the Kree want to come and stomp you to a cinder. We convinced them to give us a chance first. To talk to you and figure out what's going on. And how we might help you guys get things back to how they were before."

The rebels shuddered with anger, but only the leader spoke. "There is no getting back, not as long as the presidency holds power. They have corrupted our ideals, our laws, and our customs. They tried to weaponize the gods!"

"Ha," Nova said, fisting his hand. "Knew it. Every time."

Carol gave him a reproachful look, hoping it would motivate him to stay silent, before turning back on the Anolian.

"So you say," she accused. "According to the presidency, that's pretty much what you were doing. You convinced the Chosen to surrender the gods, and now they've left your planet open to the Unseen. Isn't that right?"

"What? No!" The Anolian suffered a spasm and sap shot out of its ear, falling dejectedly on the ground.

"Ew," Nova reacted, and Geena shuddered, stepping away completely in agreement. "Gross."

The rebel leader ignored them, though, choosing instead to focus on his yelling.

"The Chosen came to us! The presidency wanted to use their powers unlawfully, to take them unto themselves so they didn't have to surrender their post! We're supposed to switch every great season, after Tunhak! Trying to stay goes against all of our customs! So the Chosen took the powers away! We are trying to take down the presidency so that the Chosen can return to their rightful place! Here, together with each other, and us, they can stand against the Unseen. But separated as they are, they will be hunted down, and then we will all be doomed!"

Carol frowned. Her ear buzzed with her team chiming in.

"Lies," Sunfire said. "Find out where the rest of them are and let's put an end to this. Or the Kree will."

"This makes total sense, those presidents were super shifty!" Nova said, getting an approving look from the Anolians.

"I dunno about this. Neither of these stories add up," Geena said, "and I'm worried about what they have in common."

"They mentioned one chosen was still around," said Wonder Man in her ear.

"Good point, ask about that Chosen. Let's talk to him," War-Machine said, almost as if it was an order.

"I have an opinion too, guys, I think-"

Mr. Immortal ended up taking the short end of the stick, as that was the moment her temper flared.

"Keep. Radio. Clean," Carol punctuated, yet again. It was annoying that she had to do so. She turned to the Anolian out of reflex, wanting to check with his facial expression for signs of sincerity. Obviously, she had no idea since the Anolians had faces too foreign to read properly. "Do you have any proof of this?" Carol asked instead.

"Please, out-worlder, please believe us!" They head-butted the ground powerfully, almost digging holes, which concerned her momentarily. But it didn't cause them any damage. It was probably just something they would do as supplication. Still, it was impressive to see all twenty of them doing it. "Our world, our way of life, and all our lives! They are in your hands! Help us, please! Help us!"

Carol gritted her teeth. She had no idea what to do. Who to believe? In fact, did she have any right to even do anything at that point? It was one thing to meddle in the affairs of a planet if the situation was clear, and the grievances obvious, but a completely different one with the situation being what it was.

What her teammates had said finally clicked.

"The presidency mentioned that a Chosen was still on the planet. Where is this person?" Carol asked. "Are they with you?"

There was a pause, and it was a suspicious pause, a pause to think. Still, the Anolian straightened up and faced her.

"No. In the event of our capture, so we cannot reveal his location, we were not told where he was hidden. But he stands with us, that much is for certain! Please, be on the right side of history!" They started digging their heads into the ground again, back and forth. "Save our world! Save us! Bring down the presidency!"

"They make a mockery of us. Unleash me," Sunfire demanded, and Carol glanced up at him annoyed.

How could he make light of that decision? But more importantly, how could she make the decision at all? How should she proceed? Her team would be waiting for her call, and the longer she hesitated, the less they would respect it, no matter what it was. She knew for a fact that any decision was better than indecision, but in that situation?

To come in and alter the course of planetary history? How should she proceed? Who was in the right?

Shaking her head, she decided that's what she needed to do. Something constructive, irrespective of its potential for success.

"You will tell me where your leadership is," Carol demanded. "I will make them sit down with the presidency, and under our supervision, you will talk this out."

The Anolians balked, all together.

"They are evil and traitors! Never! They need to unite with the earth, or there is no future for us!"

"Are you the leadership?" She asked, stubbornly.

The Anolian gulped and faced the floor, tensely.

"One of them. But I am telling you, there is no peace to be made. There is only victory and salvation, or defeat and doom."

"We'll see about that," Carol said, and the silence in her radio worried her, but she continued. "Wonder Man. Tell the presidency we are coming to them, and we're bringing them a leader of the rebels." She glared down at the Anolian and emphasized her next words.

"To talk."

* * *

 ** _Part End: Thank you for reading, please consider leaving a review if you have the time._**

When in doubt, figure things out! Still, what a situation to be in for our Carol on her very first mission as a team leader. Check back next part when they find this missing Chosen and discover where the truth lies.

 _This story and Spider-man: Repulse are heavily connected by lore, even though they're not connected by plot. All my marvel stories are in the same universe, and following an overarching plot. Just in case you want to give that a read._


	6. The Truth Confuses

_**Disclaimer: Goes without saying but I do not own Bruce Banner nor the Hulk nor any other Marvel character herein included. They're the properties of the original creators as dictated by official documents, whom you can find out more about in Wikipedia or something. Stan Lee, Marvel Comics, etc.**_

 _ **The Anolians and every related character/lore are invented by me, as is the overarching plot, but obviously, I don't own it. Still Marvel.**_

 _ **Rating: T for a bit of violence. I censor profanity like they would in a comic, if I ever use it.**_

* * *

 **PART 6: The Truth Confuses**

If only to keep the trust of her team, Carol decided to get them on an additional mission. She and Wonder Man, and Geena, would watch over the meeting of the two sides. Meanwhile, Sunfire, Nova, and War-Machine would be looking for the hidden Chosen. Hopefully, between the life-tracking tech in Nova's helmet, War-Machine's own psychometric scanners and Sunfire's heat signature sense, they would find the Chosen and get to the bottom of the whole thing.

In reality, Carol believed she could force the two sides to step down from their claim. One of them was lying. One of them was in the wrong. One of them was going to lose.

"You are to be united with the earth!" The woman president said, pointing at the rebel leader.

Wonder Man was standing by the rebel leader, engulfed in the purple hue of his ionized energy field. He was ready to protect the rebel should there be a need. Carol was standing on the other side of him, similarly prepared to take action. They were in the midst of the meeting room they had been in before: a great circular thing where half of it was filled with the thrones, and those sitting on them.

"I do not recognize your authority!" The rebel leader yelled back. "You may have the foreigners tricked, but your people know better! We know you have attempted to take the gods unto yourselves, against the law! Chosen cannot be presidents! Presidents cannot be Chosen! That is the law!"

"Stop with your lies," another of the presidency yelled out. "You are the ones who have taken the gods! All but one of the Chosen yet lives because of your treachery!"

"What?! You are the ones who united the Chosen with the earth, not us!" Argued the rebel.

"Because they surrendered the gods! That is law!"

"They surrendered the gods so **you** wouldn't take them!" the rebel leader continued to yell. "How else to escape the system than to give them to unChosen? Those you care so little about that we can leave and never be noticed!"

"Found more rebels," War-Machine reported. "Will the translator work with me, Nova? Over."

"Yes. Go for it," said Nova. "Over! I remembere-over!"

Carol's radio shut off just as missiles started flying, and she was left a bit peeved by the fact War-Machine had found them. A disorderly team member wasn't as bad as one who could be more of a leader than the actual leader, but the combination of the two worried her. Still, there was nothing she could do about it, and in the end, he was a friend. She knew Rhodes wouldn't do that to her, not lightly.

"Lies and more lies," said the old man of the presidency, and then a slithering voice took over. "So you succeeded to smuggle unChosen out of the system. You are right to assume we keep a much better eye on the Chosen. Why shouldn't we? They cannot leave our system, that leaves the entire galaxy undefended! The Unseen will come for them, and we will all be doomed."

"Not if you accept the will of the people and unite with the earth!" The rebel leader yelled out. "Then they will return! Without a doubt, the gods will return to us!"

"There is an Anolian all by himself hiding inside a tree trunk," Sunfire said in her ear, disgruntled. He wasn't happy about the whole mission, it sounded like. "Shall I take him?"

"Don't burn the whole forest to the ground," Carol whispered, reflexively turning her face to the side. "Nova, go meet him. War-Machine, report. Over"

The presidency and the rebel leader kept yelling about the same topics, and while Carol had expected it to be a spiral, it was actually in a circle. She frowned impatiently and took a breath to keep her cool.

"This is going nowhere," Geena said from her side, as if it needed to be said.

"This is weird," War-Machine's voice pointed out. "These guys are telling a slightly different version of things. According to them, the Chosen fled on his own. They're still claiming he's on their side, but the part about hiding him seems to not be true. Over and out."

Carol thought about that. It was possible that that was a new development, and so the rebel leader to her side wouldn't know of it.

"Sunfire? Nova? Over."

"This vine man is the Chosen," Sunfire said, still sounding upset. "According to him. The child Nova is finding out what his lies are. A few minutes." Sunfire's sarcasm was palpable.

"Hey, what?" Nova's voice sounded out, from the distance, getting picked up by Sunfire's intercom. "Child?!"

Carol cleared her throat, calling the attention of the room.

"We have just located your Chosen." Both parties, the eight members of the presidency and the rebel leader, looked back at her startled. "We will find out his version of things momentarily. Does anyone feel like getting ahead of this? For the sake of your world. Of your planet. Of your people?"

"Please!" The rebel leader started breaking the bark ground with his head, once again cowtowing. "Save our world, save our people! You are our only hope, heroes of the space! Please!"

"Do not listen to those wretches!" the woman president demanded.

"Whoever you have captured is most likely a lying, conniving pawn! Let us confirm his identity, do not blindly believe him!" another president demanded, heartily.

"Eesh," Geena said, utterly confused. "This is a mess. What the heck's going on?"

Carol sighed and waited for Nova's report, and it soon came.

"Alright. A little bit of column A, a little bit of column B, and a little bit of column C."

"They're both lying," Sunfire broke in, to explain the vague metaphor.

"Dude, let me tell it!" Nova protested, and quite frankly, Carol was starting to get a headache. She needed to rethink the intercom system. "Captain. Assuming these Chosen actually had some kind of power inside of them, these gods? The presidency really plotted to steal them. But so did the rebel leaders. Apparently, up until now, for all these thousands of years, most of the Chosen have been seasoned and trained when a new one is selected. But through a series of machinations - that's the word he used - all of the Chosen were new to their gods, and pretty ignorant. Like, not even this guy knows a lot about the rules. They know they can pass out and-"

"Hold on," Carol asked, and turned her head to face the shouting Anolians. Her hand glowed and blasted a wide hole into the floor in front of her. That startled them all. "Shut up! Now!"

The presidency regarded her insulted, but the rebel leader crawled away a step and immediately shut up.

"I mean it," Carol added. "Go on, Nova."

Nova coughed, and gulped, and continued. "They pass the gods only if someone is receptive. If they accept it. Both the presidency and the rebels tried to convince them to do that with them, and then plotted to coerce them. Kidnapped family, friends, the usual, but these guys weren't the Chosen for anything!"

"Hey sorry," Mr. Immortal cut in. "I dozed off a little bit there, mind starting over? What's this about coercing gods? To do wha-"

"This isn't a joke!" Carol yelled, "are you kidding me, mister?"

"I was trying to," Mr. Immortal said, snickering apologetically. Somehow.

"It's not funny. Nova, go on, hurry."

"Well. According to him, the Chosen gave the gods to whoever they could trust and sent them off planet. The Chosen were killed, all but this guy. And their families, too. The rebels did some of them in, the presidency did the others, but they just blame it all on the other side. The really bad part is that only the leaders and a few agents are aware of all of this. Most of the warriors and soldiers, on both sides, just believe the lies. Same with the civilians. I mean, according to this guy."

Sunfire loudly snorted in a depreciating manner. "The few leading the many on lies against each other, vying for all of the power." Then he cursed in Japanese, insulting everyone involved.

Carol was looking on grimly.

Geena whistled, and Simon glanced over at a loss, and Carol completely agreed with that sentiment.

What the hell did they do, now?

* * *

 ** _Part End: Thank you for reading, please consider leaving a review if you have the time._**

Oh boy. What would you do? Be back for the next part, when things escalate and blow up, and Carol makes her decision

 _This story and Spider-man: Repulse are heavily connected by lore, even though they're not connected by plot. All my marvel stories are in the same universe, and following an overarching plot. Just in case you want to give that a read._


	7. Lies and Manipulations

_**Disclaimer: Goes without saying but I do not own Bruce Banner nor the Hulk nor any other Marvel character herein included. They're the properties of the original creators as dictated by official documents, whom you can find out more about in Wikipedia or something. Stan Lee, Marvel Comics, etc.**_

 _ **The Anolians and every related character/lore are invented by me, as is the overarching plot, but obviously, I don't own it. Still Marvel.**_

 _ **Rating: T for a bit of violence. I censor profanity like they would in a comic, if I ever use it.**_

* * *

 **PART 7: Lies and Manipulations**

Indecision is worse than any decision.

But is it, really?

They had a job. It was their assigned duty to fix the situation with the Anolians so that the Kree weren't forced to subjugate them by force, or all-out eradicate them. She had assumed there would be a right way to the whole thing. A right side to the whole conflict.

But there wasn't.

They were both lying, both trying to manipulate her and her team, just like they were manipulating everyone who was supporting them. And they were not going to stop.

What should she do? Support one of the sides? Take down both? What happened then?

"We should tell people the truth," Nova put forth, through her ear, "they should know they're being used."

"They'll never believe us over their idols and saviors," Wonder Man said, in a low voice, but he was still noticed.

"What are you talking about?!" One of the presidency asked, standing up. "We demand to know what you are plotting! Especially if it is on top of whatever lies his agent fed you!"

"It is clear. We take down their idols and saviors, and let the people believe whatever they want," Sunfire suggested.

"Are you insane? We can't kill them all," War-machine put forth, adding to Carol's headache. "We'll destabilize their whole system, the Kree will come and do even worse."

"We should just leave. Our real concern is these missing gods, and whatever the Unseen are. We need to hunt them down, or find out more about them," Geena mentioned, triggering the attention of the presidency. "I feel for the Anolians, I do, but I think we're overstepping here."

"That would be acceptable," one of the presidency said, a bit too quickly. "If you are not going to assist. If you do not believe the people's representatives, then you should leave."

"The Kree will come and destroy you all," Wonder Man said, as a warning. "We want to help you. You may feel like there is still a chance to maintain your life, and your power, but unless both of you step down…if you keep fighting, the Kree will come."

"There is only one way to stop that from happening!" The rebel said, turning his kowtowing to Wonder Man. "Take down the presidency! Those pits of corruption and-"

"Shut up!" Carol demanded, flaring with energy. The soldiers rose their weapons and took aim, but she did not even flinch. She had nothing to fear from them. "Everyone shut the hell up right now!"

Why was she in that situation? What kind of situation was that to be on? Why wasn't Thor there? Why was Sunfire so belligerent and Nova so naïve and Wonder Man so passive and War Machine kept chiming in even though nobody asked him to.

What kind of situation was that? What the hell could she do? What was the right thing to do?

Carol's head was hurting. Everyone knew the right thing to do, they were as sure as she had always been, in every other situation.

 _Because the responsibility was only on me,_ she realized, frowning. If she made a bad call, it would have consequences for her team, and her planet, and for how everyone regarded her leadership.

She wanted to lead. Carol knew she could do it well, but she had imagined combat situations. Or clear-cut situations. Or situations that made at least a bit of sense or were in some way fair.

What kind of situation was that?!

Lies and manipulations at such a large scale, all mounted on idolatry and idealism that could stand even against facts, let alone testimonies from strangers.

 _Wait,_ she stopped herself. What about testimony from someone people knew? And trusted?

"The Chosen," she whispered, opening her eyes. "The Chosen. Do the people know who the Chosen are?" She asked out loud, for someone to answer.

There was silence. Tense, terse, terrible silence. From both parties.

"There's a big world-wide celebration whenever anyone's chosen," said a voice in her ear. "That's what the reading thing says," added Mr. Immortal, helpfully.

Wonder Man shrugged and nodded in agreement. Geena smiled widely. "Nice thinking."

One of the members of the presidency, the one who had stood up, must've realized what Carol had thought of. His plant face contorted with despairing thoughts, and he lifted one of his hands.

"Meddlesome outworlders! Your disrespect for our highest of offices is held in contempt. You speak to us like children and silence us like common criminals. We will not stand for this. Guards!"

Before he could finish speaking, the rebel leader kowtowed once more, violently, and broke off a piece of his head. It rolled across the floor, revealing a gadget.

"Finally!" He yelled.

The nearest guard looked down at it in shock, recognizing it.

"BOMB!" he screamed.

"You think we'd storm the citadel with only twenty people?! IDIOTS!" The Rebel leader whipped his body at it, and Carol flew to get in front of Geena.

"Si!" she yelled, and Wonder Man's body flashed with his purple energy.

And then the whole world went yellow.

* * *

 ** _Part End: Thank you for reading, please consider leaving a review if you have the time._**

If you think that's the great reveal and there are no more twists, you got another thing coming! But then again, so do they, as next part, Captain Marvel's team engages the Anolians in real combat.

 _This story and Spider-man: Repulse are heavily connected by lore, even though they're not connected by plot. All my marvel stories are in the same universe, and following an overarching plot. Just in case you want to give that a read._


	8. Captain Marvel

_**Disclaimer: Goes without saying but I do not own Bruce Banner nor the Hulk nor any other Marvel character herein included. They're the properties of the original creators as dictated by official documents, whom you can find out more about in Wikipedia or something. Stan Lee, Marvel Comics, etc.**_

 _ **The Anolians and every related character/lore are invented by me, as is the overarching plot, but obviously, I don't own it. Still Marvel.**_

 _ **Rating: T for a bit of violence. I censor profanity like they would in a comic, if I ever use it.**_

* * *

 **PART 8: Captain Marvel**

Captain Carol Danvers, Captain Marvel, stood in front of Geena and absorbed as much of the blast as she could. It hurt very much for one second since it was a weird energy signature that she wasn't familiar with, but she quickly adapted and absorbed it. That part of the experience was pretty familiar.

Carol could see it storming up into the sky, forming a beacon. That meant it completely tore through the massive tree, opening a massive tear across its side. As it dissipated, she saw Wonder Man's energy flow battling the explosion. He was standing with both his arms open, shaping an ionic shield into a cone-like structure that protected most everyone inside the tree palace.

The rebel leader was all but gone, as were three of the eight members of the presidency, plus half their guards.

At the end of it all, Captain Marvel was left beaming with all the absorbed power, and Wonder Man was shining with his particular energy.

"Whoah," Geena said, carefully touching Carol's back with her finger. "Wow."

"What is happening? Over," War-Machine asked.

The silence and shock were broken by a sleuth of explosions, happening far away, but close enough. Happening near the outskirts of the city.

"The outworlders are helping the rebels!" the woman president screeched, pointing its vines at the three. "Unite them! Unite them with the eeaaartthhh."

The Anolian rifles charged and opened fire, but Wonder Man moved and reshaped his shield, sucking it into an arch that successfully protected the three of them. There was a massive crater where the explosion had happened, so he had to float to them.

Streaks of yellow beams struck at the shield, all while the presidency sent in orders to several different entities.

"They are attacking from the north-west, respond immediately!"

"Evacuate due east!"

"Secure the granaries, they must not destroy our food supply!"

"Your orders, captain," Wonder Man requested, looking worried. Carol watched the presidency with spite, and all she wanted was to charge in and end them all. But she couldn't let that affect her judgment.

"Nova, bring the Chosen to the capital and protect him at all costs. We will broadcast his testimony to the Anolians. Over."

"What do the rest of us do?" Mr. Immortal asked.

"Are you under attack? Over!" War-Machine asked.

"Not for long," Captain Marvel said, growling. Captain Marvel's body was glowing with charged up energy, which made her feel as good as anything could. That was still nothing when compared to the lack of doubts. They were all gone now that she knew exactly what to do.

"Get back to the ship, War-Machine, they might attack it. Sunfire, stop the rebel attacks. Geena, Wonder Man, we will take over whatever facility we need to use to broadcast. I'll find out which."

Carol flew back and over Wonder Man's shield. The yellow light beams concentrated on her, but she just absorbed them, powering up further. She was already strong enough to handle their kinetic force, so she wasn't even flinching.

Captain Marvel took a breath, concentrating the energy, and then let out a little bit of it with a yell. She punched forward with her hands, blasting the floor near some of the guards with photon light energy. It heated up and erupted, blowing them against the walls of the shattered tree. She turned her body in the air, doing the same to pretty much everyone there.

"Grab a president, Geena."

"You got it!" yelled the girl, running off after a member of the presidency. She was quite agile, all things considered. Geena hopped and dove, rolling forward, and quickly got to one of the presidents. She placed her rifle against his head and dragged him over on the threat of death, using him as a shield while she was at it. More guardsmen came to the aid of their leaders, but Carol blasted the entrance to gain time.

Carol felt great. It always felt amazing to have the power of Binary again. Wonder Man was still just maintaining his shield, though. Still, that should be more than enough.

Just as they had discussed before, the Anolians weren't very brave. The president agreed to show them to the broadcasting facility without much coercion.

"Just don't unite me with the earth, please! I'm too young to be united with the earth!"

"I have engaged the rebels," Sunfire reported, "Nova should be with you in but a minute. What is the policy on collateral damage?"

"Self-defense only," Carol said as fast as she could. "Kill as a last resort."

"Fine," Sunfire said, annoyed. "I will not kill anyone," he said, meaning to say the Anolians couldn't possibly pose any danger to him.

"Wonder Man, you'll take Geena and follow me." Captain Marvel grabbed hold of the helpful president, the one with the slithering voice. "Up up and away, mister president."

Grabbing hold of him, Carol blasted off the floor and out the top of the tree that had been blown up. Flying fast and with purpose.

* * *

 ** _Part End: Thank you for reading, please consider leaving a review if you have the time._**

No one can stand against Avengers: Intergalactic! The Galaxy's Mightiest Heroes. But they can trick them, though. Find out how when next we return.

 _This story and Spider-man: Repulse are heavily connected by lore, even though they're not connected by plot. All my marvel stories are in the same universe, and following an overarching plot. Just in case you want to give that a read._


	9. Tricked

_**Disclaimer: Goes without saying but I do not own Bruce Banner nor the Hulk nor any other Marvel character herein included. They're the properties of the original creators as dictated by official documents, whom you can find out more about in Wikipedia or something. Stan Lee, Marvel Comics, etc.**_

 _ **The Anolians and every related character/lore are invented by me, as is the overarching plot, but obviously, I don't own it. Still Marvel.**_

 _ **Rating: T for a bit of violence. I censor profanity like they would in a comic, if I ever use it.**_

* * *

 **PART 9: Tricked**

"You are dooming us all! You are dooming the universe!" Yelled the president.

"Shut up!" Carol yelled down, swinging him like she was about to drop him. "You did this! All of you, you selfish bastards.

"What is done's been done! You are making nothing better! Support the presidency before it is too late, and we will bring this world under control, and we will have peace! Nothing that the Kree will have a problem with."

Carol shook him again, making him yell.

"You idiot! Peace is not why they leave you alone, it's the pacifism. The fact you spend your lives having holidays and show no ambition whatsoever. Living lives anyone would envy. You're a perfect talking point for their politics since they can use your example to claim they're not the mad conquerors other people think they are. But that's your only use."

The president scowled down at the ground.

"Bah! So we are supposed to stay pathetic and never seek to accomplish anything? That's not fair!"

Carol felt for him there. She was a pretty ambitious person, herself, and she would probably have wanted to fight the Kree. At the same time, enjoying some responsibility-free vacation was a concept that sounded great pretty much all of the time. How long had it been since she had indulged in something like that? Had it ever happened?

Well, it didn't matter. "What you're trying to accomplish is tyranny," she said. "You're not rising up against the Kree, but against your own people."

"Idiot out-worlder! I don't even know where you're from," the president protested, beyond insulted. "If we had the gods, we could stand against the Kree. That is the point of it all! The Chosen are strictly picked according to their desire to have a life-long Tunhak. They are the last of us who should have the power of the gods! These rules were made a long time ago when there was no Kree threat looming on the horizon! The law needs changing!"

Carol rolled her eyes. Her mind stirred, and her heart wobbled before the dilemma, but she was on a set course. It made it easier for her to deal with the argument.

"Then you should have convinced your people, or your Chosen. Instead, you engaged in war and subterfuge, and assassinations. I'm not a fan of the Kree, but right now, I'm very much not a fan of you, either. For all I know, you're completely lying to me. There's a lot I don't know about these gods of yours, and the Unseen. You might have a plan to control this universe-ending power."

That would figure.

"I have no reason to lie!" the president assured in righteous complaint. "Ignorant out-worlder! You admit your ignorance, and still you interfere!"

Carol shrugged. "That's just what a liar would say," she said, "and I'm not setting a course for your planet. Every Anolian will know the truth of what you've done, and the rebels. Once that's done, we'll leave, and your fate as a people will be your own. Whether the presidency is respected, or the rebels accepted, or whether you continue the war and the Kree end up stepping in. That will be up to all Anolians."

Carol looked around the city of large trees and saw flares of Sunfire's flames. She hoped he was using his powers reasonably. She also saw the streak being left behind by Nova's flight. He mostly just cut at the air around him, leaving a tear in the atmosphere.

"Where?!" She asked, shaking the president, and he pointed at a building nearby. She corrected her flight to head towards it, and Nova corrected his to join her.

The president yelled in terror as his soldiers down in the streets opened fire on Carol and Simon, and Geena shot back, blasting their arms away, and the weapons with them. Much like with Groot, that didn't seem to cause lasting damage, but they still yelled and fell to the ground, visibly pained. She shoved the president to the ground next to one of his downed soldiers, and then spurred him to walk on his own.

"Walk ahead of me!" She demanded.

"Hey guys!" Greeted Nova.

Nova landed next to Carol, setting the Chosen down, all while the purple hue of Wonder Man's ionic energy field enveloped them. Yellow beams splashed against it ineffectually.

The Chosen had his eyes wide open in fear. His vines were shiny green, looking healthy and clean, but his eyes were opaque orange, and they glanced over at the president, and then back to Carol to look her up and down.

"You are the captain?" he asked, glancing around at the chaos developing around them. A lot of Anolians were in the street, running every which way, and about thirty soldiers were surrounding them, and yet, they were marching into the building without a moment's pause or any real hesitation.

"You are making a mistake! Stop this!" the president demanded, but Carol outright ignored him, focusing instead on the Chosen.

"Don't worry about him, sir. I'm Captain Marvel, and we intend to use your people's broadcasting system, the same that was used when you were Chosen, and relay to them the truth of what you've gone through. May I ask your name?"

She had not gotten the name of any of the presidents, or of the rebel leader. That felt right. It felt just.

"Rahnh," he said, overwhelmed. "Is this a good idea? The Anolians…we have never been without leadership…that we can trust. We don't-we won't know what to do."

"Yes! Precisely! The presidency are the only ones-" Carol blasted at the president's feet, charring a small hole into the wooden floor. That silenced him.

"Once upon a time, you figured it out, didn't you?" Carol asked, unrelenting. "You made your rules, your laws, your customs, and selected your first presidency. Your first Chosen."

Rahnh nodded thoughtfully. "Sounds like a lot of work-ahh!" He reacted to a particularly powerful explosion that made Wonder Man's shield shimmer.

"Captain, this is a bit too much," Wonder Man said, apologetically, and Carol nodded.

"Nova, keep them clear from the building. We can't let it get damaged. Geena, watch the president."

"Roger dodger!" Nova said, giving her a heartfelt yet terrible salute. "Over!" He blasted off the ground, leaving it charred, and immediately flew in an arc, slamming into half of the soldiers to knock them out of the fight.

Carol mumbled "you don't need to say over in person…"

Geena poked the president with her rifle, and they walked on. As they were crossing the doors, War-Machine got in contact.

"I wish I was there helping you guys, but it was a good call to get me back here. There's a bunch of Anolian soldiers trying to blast the ship with some kind of plasma explosives. I'll keep them clear. Over."

"I'm helping!" Mr. Immortal added. "I really am! Using the guns system!"

"Weapons System," War-Machine corrected.

"Yes that!" Mr. Immortal agreed, enthusiastic

"He's helping," War-Machine concurred, holding back a chuckle, "over and out."

Captain Marvel was feeling on top of it all. When it came to combat, she was battle-tested and ready. That War-Machine would vocalize how well she was doing was a major plus to the situation.

They were marching fast, and soon, they would pass on the Chosen's testimony, and she would clean her hands of the entire debacle.

There were two sides to the conflict that was the problem. The mission. And both sides were bad and filled with lies, so the mission was now to bring those lies out and into the light. Captain Marvel would give Anolians the truth.

They arrived at the top of the massive tree, entering a room that was pretty large. It had a small sub-room that was closed off from the rest. The floor formed a spiral of vines, and so did the ceiling, and they were completely parallel to each other , while also not touching. There was plenty of enough space for someone to stand in-between them.

"I stand over there," the Chosen said, hesitantly. Carol nodded, guessing that they should take the sub-room. It did, expectedly, have a bunch of panels with buttons and dials. It was so weird how technology was built into the trees and flowers like that.

"How do you use this. Hey," she grabbed the Anolian president and pulled him. "You know how to use this?"

"No!"

Geena put a rifle to his head. "You sure?!"

"Argh, fine, please, don't unite me! Don't unite me!" He took control of the panels, and the Chosen stood at the center of the spirals, looking up.

Carol smiled. The Anolian leadership was really squeamish and easy to strong-arm. It made things simple. Still, she was surprised that he knew how to use that thing. Maybe he had worked in that place before becoming a president. Fate really was on her side at that point.

The room lit up with yellow light, pulsing. It streamed on the floors and ceiling, trailing the spirals. Once it reached the center, it connected, shooting through Rahnh. It made him shiver and spasm, and his body arched back, hovering into suspension. It looked painful.

"That better be normal," Carol threatened, and the president nodded frightfully.

"Of course! It connects through the plant life to-"

Suddenly, a two-dimensional virtual screen popped up out of the ground in front of Carol. And Geena, and Simon, and the president. It showed Rahnh's face.

"Ano-Anolians. My people, you should remember me, Chosen Rahnh? I have…something you must know," he began.

Carol felt a moment of complete and utter success. They had accomplished it. It had been a hard task, but once they had set their minds to purpose, all the soldiers in the world couldn't stop them. Her team was amazing. Thanks to her, an entire world was about to be saved.

And then she noticed the president was grinning victoriously at the image of the Chosen. Her face fell as he glanced the opaque eyes at her, only they were no longer opaque. They were something else, a lot more recognizable. And they blinked.

"We knew you were coming, earthling."

* * *

 ** _Part End: Thank you for reading, please consider leaving a review if you have the time._**

Oh boy, what's this now. He said he didn't know where they were from, and yet he calls him earthling? And his eyes changed?! Be here next part when the entire plot is revealed!

 _This story and Spider-man: Repulse are heavily connected by lore, even though they're not connected by plot. All my marvel stories are in the same universe, and following an overarching plot. Just in case you want to give that a read._


	10. The Plot

_**Disclaimer: Goes without saying but I do not own Bruce Banner nor the Hulk nor any other Marvel character herein included. They're the properties of the original creators as dictated by official documents, whom you can find out more about in Wikipedia or something. Stan Lee, Marvel Comics, etc.**_

 _ **The Anolians and every related character/lore are invented by me, as is the overarching plot, but obviously, I don't own it. Still Marvel.**_

 _ **Rating: T for a bit of violence. I censor profanity like they would in a comic, if I ever use it.**_

* * *

 **PART 10: The Plot**

"The rebels, they tried to capture the gods! Take them into themselves so they could take over the presidency! Take over us! They captured my family, and my friends and tried to convince me…it was so gruesome. Now they're fighting because me and my fellows - we sent the gods away. For their protection, and that of our universe. Friends. Anolians. Please, stand with the presidency! Don't let this senseless war continue!"

"What?! That's not what he told me!" Nova protested in her ear.

"What is this?!" Sunfire also yelled, followed by a Japanese curse. "Is lying a religious experience for these people?!"

"What's going on?" War-Machine came through, echoed by Geena right beside Carol.

Carol, herself, was stumped. She was on such a victory high that this sudden turn of events had thrown her completely off the loop. The president was exactly the opposite. He was no longer at a loss out of fear and helplessness. He was grinning widely, happily.

"Did you really think Anolians would be able to display this level of ambition? Execute these sort of tactics? They are weak. All they care about is their sabbatical season, Tunhak. You're fools, earthlings, nothing but idiots bumbling around in places you know nothing about."

"Rebels, surrender. Please," continued the Chosen. "Your leaders have lied to you. You are on the side of wrong. You are the ones trying to destroy our way, and set us up for total destruction. The out-worlders are behind all of this! They came after me, and they took me, and they tried to-"

Carol blasted that whole side of the room in a fit of frustration, blowing a hole the size of the wall with a force that pushed Rahnh off its hovering trance and onto the ground. He stood up cackling in amusement. The president was also laughing, and his voice was different now.

"What?" Geena asked again.

"The truth is whatever people want to believe it is, earthlings. We know that better than anyone."

Carol looked over and recognized the figure of the green reptilian-like man. She squinted in anger.

"Skrulls," Wonder Man revealed, stating the obvious.

"Skrulls? What's that?" Geena asked.

"Shape-changing snakes," Carol accused, between gritted teeth and while marching for the fake president. The skrull kicked at the ground and jumped out through the hole using some kind of ability it had likely stolen from some other species, or individual. "They subvert civilization from within, and set them up for failure!"

"We have no need for such tactics with the Anolians," the fake Chosen said, amused. "This is a weak-willed people, and we can use any one of them to lead all the rest. Still, thank you for moving our schedule ahead, it was helpful to have a good opportunity to replace every single member of the presidency."

Carol gasped, embarrassing as that was.

"For a while there, we thought we wouldn't make it," continued the fake president. "We failed to get the powers from the Anolians, and so this stupid civil war escalated. We figured we'd have to abandon the Anolians to their eventual massacre at the ends of our real foes, but then, lo' and behold, we learn of earthlings coming to the rescue."

They laughed.

"We love it when you people come to the rescue. So easy to predict. To fool. To manipulate," gloated the fake Chosen.

Carol's hands glowed dangerously. The powers they were talking about were the Anolian gods. The Skrull were after the gods. But for what?

"What the hell are you after?" Carol said, stepping forth. "Tell me, or I'll obliterate you to a molecular level."

They scoffed unafraid.

"Well, the plan was to get their powers and then take over the entire Anolian people. An entire system inside the Kree Empire being left alone? What a juicy proposition. What an asset to own."

"Now?" Continued the other, the would be president. "Who knows," he said, thoroughly amused. "Whatever it is, you can't stop it. We have not only taken over the leadership but many of the silly civilians as well. You'll have to slaughter all of the Anolians to stop us. You can let the Kree know of our presence here, too, and they will cleanse every planet in the system to get just one of us."

They laughed, and Carol scowled, once again feeling trapped. Once again completely blind to what might be the right move. But moreover, she was burning with shame. She had made everything worse. She had completely fallen for their ploy and taken the worst action imaginable.

"Kill them," Sunfire said. "Their allies will then not know that we know."

That was something. Something that made sense. A move in the right direction. Her fists shone, and she stepped forward.

"No, we can interrogate them," War-Machine said. "Take them back and get a telepath to get information out of them."

And Carol stopped, hesitating.

"They're Skrull, I'm afraid to take that long of a trip with them," Nova said. "These guys can really mess us up if we're not careful."

"Wake up, War Machine. Why reveal themselves to us?" Sunfire asked, annoyed as ever, and Carol saw Simon nodding in agreement.

"True," he said, "They could have played this differently. They can either kill themselves or they don't know anything." Simon looked over at Carol with a sad expression. "Clearly, their mission is done. And so are their lives."

"I agree with Machine man," Geena said. "We shouldn't just murder them."

"I'm not saying that," Nova immediately said, defensively. "Is it a bad idea to reveal them to the Anolians? The truth's always good, right?"

"They'll go completely crazy, man!" Mr. Immortal contributed, surprisingly. "No way the Kree don't find out about it!"

"It's a risk worth taking," War-Machine pressed. "Take them prisoner."

"Some Anolian will see you taking them," Sunfire said. "It will be the same as revealing their presence. It is not a risk worth taking. Kill them."

Carol clenched her fists, grinding her teeth. She felt like such a failure, and once again, stuck with choosing between two wrongs.

Again.

Carol strengthened the resolve within her. If she couldn't find hope in the choice she had to make now, she would find it in the choice she was going to make after. With that in mind, she took a step and began to hover.

"We'll find the Anolians who escaped," she promised, through gritted teeth, while crossing the hole in the room. "We'll find their gods. We'll come back and, with their help, we'll root you out and free the Anolian worlds."

Captain Marvel pointed one hand at each of them, palms turned towards them, charging with the glow of photon energy. And yet, the Skrulls smiled and chuckled.

"You have lost, earthling, and you better get used to it," gloated the fake president. "We are different now. Smarter. More experienced."

"And rest assured that we **will** come for you, too," said the fake Chosen.

"Or maybe, we are already there," said the would-be president, and both of them started laughing inwardly.

Her hands shone brightly in their faces, blinding them. So they closed their eyes and lifted their faces in preparation.

"For the Empress," they said together, before Captain Marvel lit the whole room with a flash of photon energy, scarring the floor with their ashes.

"Holy…captain…" Geena was looking on in shock, but Carol dimmed the power in her hands, bringing it to rest.

Captain Marvel had to use every bit of strength in her not to choke as she spoke her next orders.

"Everyone back to the ship." Her voice sounded leveled. Stern and in control. Completely unlike how she really felt. "We're leaving."

* * *

 ** _Part End: Thank you for reading, please consider leaving a review if you have the time._**

Yikes.

 _This story and Spider-man: Repulse are heavily connected by lore, even though they're not connected by plot. All my marvel stories are in the same universe, and following an overarching plot. Just in case you want to give that a read._


	11. To Be A Leader

_**Disclaimer: Goes without saying but I do not own Bruce Banner nor the Hulk nor any other Marvel character herein included. They're the properties of the original creators as dictated by official documents, whom you can find out more about in Wikipedia or something. Stan Lee, Marvel Comics, etc.**_

 _ **The Anolians and every related character/lore are invented by me, as is the overarching plot, but obviously, I don't own it. Still Marvel.**_

 _ **Rating: T for a bit of violence. I censor profanity like they would in a comic, if I ever use it.**_

* * *

 **PART 11: To Be A Leader**

It was all a blur. It took a few long minutes to get everyone into the ship, and to depart from the Anolian home planet. Every Anolian had turned against them, with the entirety of the rebel faction instantly giving up after the speech. Most likely because a big portion of the rebel leadership was also Skrull.

The ship cut into folded space, and everyone settled down.

Captain Marvel was sitting at the co-pilot's chair in the cockpit, if only because that meant she wouldn't have to be looking at anyone, and she wouldn't be stuck in her room in shame either.

But that was what she felt: complete and utter shame.

Whatever the Skrull were planning, whatever their timeline, she had facilitated it.

For the life of her, she couldn't think of a way out, as much as she was still trying. Her team members were having hearty discussions about what they should have done, and what they could still do, but no one was coming up with a workable idea.

Only ideas they really believed in, and were contrary to hers.

Captain Marvel and the crew of the Artibus were now enemies to every Anolian, so no one would trust them, and they would sell them out, and Carol would be attacked by their soldiers. No matter what they were trying to do.

All of the Chosen were dead, and so there was no way to get the truth out without revealing the Skrull. Already, while her team argued, the Skrull would be taking over Anolians in their campaign to take over the system. To stop them, Carol would have to cause war and conflict, which would trigger the Kree.

Or they would reveal the Skrull presence, which would trigger the Kree.

And then, if they had to fight the Kree in their own territory, that would be terrible for Earth. That was exactly the opposite of what her team had been assembled to accomplish. They had been assembled to make things easier for Earth.

Carol's fist shivered with anger. The real difficulty was the Kree. Because of how they operated, the Skrull had managed to get themselves in a perfect position, where every move she could make was a loss, and where every loss the Skrull could take was negligible in the great scheme of things. The Skrull didn't really care about the Anolians, and neither did the Kree, which made it so every option she had available to her would end in the likely annihilation of the entire people.

Option one, allow the Skrull to take over the entire Anolian people. This would definitely never happen.

Option two, let the Kree know. The Anolians would very likely be annihilated, but Earth's standing with the Kree would improve. It was a negligible loss to the Skrull, but a loss all the same.

Option three, reveal the Skrull to the Anolians and help them fight. The Kree would come, and they would fight them, too, and escalate the conflict to unimaginable levels. Potentially, the Kree would become enemies of Earth. Potentially, the Anolians would be destroyed anyway. Certainly, the Skrull would be happy about it. Two of their enemies weakening each other? Perfect.

Sighing, she massaged her face, and her attention was pulled by Geena's voice.

"Captain! Care to weigh in?"

"We let the Kree know. This is their empire, they should know if they have snakes in their midst." Sunfire said, and he was pretty much the only one standing straight without any support, his arms crossed.

Rhodes was sitting in another chair of the cockpit.

"We do that, all the Anolians are dead. We need to find a solution that saves them," he said tensely.

"There might not be one," Nova said, sadly. "It sucks but maybe that's the case? I still think we should try, though."

"The gods, the Unseen," Geena reminded them, turning to Carol meaningfully. "They're why I'm here, it's got to be. I know we're all worried about the Anolians, but something much worse is totally happening, I can promise you."

"So we tell the Kree and continue our mission," Sunfire stated.

"Damn it, Shiro, does your heart only bleed for back home? Did you leave it there?" Asked Rhodes.

"Yes," Sunfire said, without hesitation. "We should put our home first. That makes sense to me."

"Well, in my experience, putting others first is always good in the long run," Nova said, calmly. "Like, if we could help the Anolians, their gods would just come back, right? We wouldn't have to look for them."

"But we cannot," Sunfire maintained. "We can only do what we can do."

"There has to be a way," War-Machine pressed.

"There is always a way!" Mr. Immortal put in, with an overly dramatic voice. They all turned to him with different faces, all of them put off by it. Geena giggled and looked back to Carol.

"Well, what's it gonna be, captain? I'll tell you what, I wouldn't like to be in your shoes."

Carol tried not to twist her face because she wished she wasn't in her shoes. She had no better answer than what she had said in that broadcasting chamber, to the Skrull agents she had killed.

Killed.

When had she become someone capable of that? As a fighter pilot, she was completely disconnected from her kills, but as a superhero, she had come to garnish quite a body count. One day, it no longer turned her stomach. Not when they were evil, laughing in her face because she couldn't stop them from leading an entire civilization into ruin and death.

"They said the gods could only be passed on if willingly offered, and willingly accepted. If we find the Anolians wielding these gods, we can bring them back to Anolia. Hopefully, they can do what we thought the Chosen was going to do. Then, we help them root out the Skrull."

"The Kree will know of it," Wonder Man said, and she nodded.

"But once they know the Anolians haven't changed, that it's just a Skrull infiltration and that their entire people are aware of it and rooting them out, then they might give us time to do it properly. So they can retain them as a political tool."

"And that's not true now because we don't have Anolians they can rally behind," Nova pointed out, with a sigh.

"My Dei this is convoluted," Geena said, breathing out. "But okay, so long as we're after the gods, I'm happy."

"Yes," Sunfire said. "It is not good, but what else can we expect to get out of this whole mess?"

"So long as we're really coming back to help them," Rhodes said, concerned but no less seriously, making it clear he would be extremely upset if they were to abandon the Anolians. "We can't take too long. The Skrull will keep taking over people, and now that they control their entire leadership…that's only gotten all that much easier."

Carol nodded in agreement.

"We should ask for help," Mr. Immortal proposed, and they all looked at him. "What? We got friends out there, right? We can send out a message and ask for help."

Carol's heart twisted, but she again kept the feeling well away from her face. What a failure. Her first mission was an abject catastrophe, and she could see in all their faces, and all their demeanors, that they knew it. They were not looking to her for leadership and orientation, but out of formality.

"It's a good idea. Like Rhodes said, the Skrull will already be replacing civilians. We don't have time to waste."

"I'll contact the guardians," Geena said.

"I'll call home, and see who's available," War-Machine said. "I think Reed might be able to help."

"I'll let Thor know!" Mr. Immortal said. "He took a card, right?"

Captain Marvel nodded at them all and stood up, intending to walk back to her room. She needed some time alone, without a doubt. To process everything that had happened, and digest the shame and the failure.

"Head for the Kree outpost at the edge of the system," she said.

"The Anolians who ran away would have had to use it. We'll start there."

"Roger dodger," Nova said, uncertainly.

Carol nodded tersely, her mouth thin and emotionless. "We'll regroup here when we arrive and decide what's next. Until then, make your calls and then get some rest."

Without another word, from anyone, Captain Marvel walked out.

* * *

 ** _Part End: Thank you for reading, please consider leaving a review if you have the time._**

Alright, just the epilogue missing, now. I'm afraid it'll take a bit longer for Carol to properly grow into her role of extreme responsability, though to be fair, the mission really was extremely complicated. See you again soon for the wrap up as Carol and Simon, old trusty friends, have a final talk.

 _This story and Spider-man: Repulse are heavily connected by lore, even though they're not connected by plot. All my marvel stories are in the same universe, and following an overarching plot. Just in case you want to give that a read._


	12. Epilogue

_**Disclaimer: Goes without saying but I do not own Bruce Banner nor the Hulk nor any other Marvel character herein included. They're the properties of the original creators as dictated by official documents, whom you can find out more about in Wikipedia or something. Stan Lee, Marvel Comics, etc.**_

 _ **The Anolians and every related character/lore are invented by me, as is the overarching plot, but obviously, I don't own it. Still Marvel.**_

 _ **Rating: T for a bit of violence. I censor profanity like they would in a comic, if I ever use it.**_

* * *

 **EPILOGUE**

Carol was lying on her bed when there was a knock on the door. She snorted away the snot and sat up, cross-legged.

"Yes, come in."

The door slid open, and an old familiar face regarded her from behind sunglasses which hid his eyes made of pure energy. Simon watched her silently, and yet encouragingly, while the door slid closed behind him.

"We haven't arrived yet. Why aren't you resting?" She asked him, lying back down to face the ceiling.

"You know, I'm pretty sure Steve's not the only leader you've ever witnessed."

Carol glanced sideways at her friend, raising a questioning eyebrow.

"I can see he's the one you're thinking of all the time. But you've seen a lot of others. Tony Stark. Reed Richards. Hank. Wolverine. Rogue?"

"Yes, I did see Rogue," she said, slipping a bit of spite into her tone. It was still strange to consider how much that girl had impacted her life, and how much her powers had impacted hers.

"Right. Scarlet Witch and Havoc? And Cyclops."

"Double check," she said.

"But Star-lord. That's another good one," Wonder Man said, chuckling.

"A good one?" She asked.

"Well, there's only one thing all of those team leaders have in common, Carol. They're all who they are. They're themselves."

She sat up again, thoughtfully considering his words.

"You're a fun person," he said. "I'm not saying to be fun now, the Skrull really got us, but you've been tense from the start. You're spending too much energy being someone you're not and…it's not just that people can sense that. A lack of sincerity is something that a leader can't have. I think a leader's got to be true to the core, with their good parts, and the bad parts, or else no one will follow them to hell. Let alone back."

Wonder Man's words struck a cord with her. She had sensed the lack of trust and assumed it was due to incompetence. To the failures they had suffered. But maybe, as he said, they were sensing she wasn't being true to herself. That she was putting on an act.

He was right, that was a terrible thing for a leader to do unless they were the kind to hang back and have other people lead their men into dangerous situations, and tough choices. If she wanted to be in the frontline, those standing behind her had to know what she stood for. What she fought for. They had to know her, as Simon put it, down to the core. Good or bad, they had to know what was real.

"Damn," she said, scoffing. "You're right, Si." She looked up at him, smiling. "Why are you always hiding that wisdom of yours?"

He gave her a small smile, grateful for the compliment.

"I've lived a long time, I think people forget that. I don't necessarily hide it, but going out of my way like this?" He shrugged. "Only for a true friend."

The failure was still there, present and painful, but it no longer weighed that much on her shoulders. All her thoughts, which had been focused on how she would act once they arrived at the station, and what she should say, and what her team's impressions of her would be, they all vanished. They gave room to a realization, something she had actually heard the Skrull say.

Carol got out of bed and approached him, slowly hugging him.

"I'm glad you're here, Si. Thank you. Now you need to come with me, we need to send a message back home."

Wonder Man's brow flinched up in surprise.

"A message?"

"The Skrull said they knew we were coming." She grimaced at Si as he realized what that meant. "Yeah…I think they weren't just gloating when they said they were coming for us."

But she smiled. They had faced the Skrull before. They had faced much grimmer odds. If anything, she was thankful for their arrogance, because now the Skrull were revealed.

"They slipped up. Now we know," Carol said, contently.

A bit of her fighting spirit was back, and it was more than enough to deal with the entire Skrull race and whatever they were planning. And with these unknown Anolian gods as well this Unseen menace. Whatever it all was, and no matter how many setbacks stood in her path, she was going to pull her team through and save the day.

Captain Marvel would.

* * *

 ** _Part End: Thank you for reading, please consider leaving a review if you have the time._**

And that's it. Hope you liked it. I would love to hear your thoughts.

More coming soon. Writing Thor next.

 _This story and Spider-man: Repulse are heavily connected by lore, even though they're not connected by plot. All my marvel stories are in the same universe, and following an overarching plot. Just in case you want to give that a read._


End file.
